True on the ticket price. But to me that is forgivable to an extent. The problem is coupling the high ticket price with the poor movie going experience and that is what drives me up the wall. I know for one when I get a theatre project going underway it will be mostly for live shows. If the building has movie capabilities, then fine, I may show movies during slow periods. But it does have one thinking “what is the point” especially when DVD’s are released so soon. Imax is a good way to get people back into the theatres because it is a different experience. There was a special on one of the Discovery Channels in which they show you different ways the movie experience is enhanced. Imax was one. Then they have another off shoot on Imax in which the auditorium is ‘suspended’ and the floor is glass. Another projector and screen is BELOW the audience. Most shows in this theatre are ‘flight’ related and it makes the audience feel like they are flying. Then there are the 4D movies that you experience at amusement parks in which the seats you sit in is part of a simulator platform that shakes, rocks and tilts to the movie.

However, even with all this, I found something VERY interesting. In Texas and the North East, Drive-In theatres have stopped closing and some have even reopened! Texas has built two new ones over the last couple years! Yes, it appears the drive-in is making a comeback. For one the experience is WAY different and second there are not that many indoor screens that can get the size of a Drive-In screen.

I guess overall it is the ‘different’ and positive experiences that will bring people back in the theatre. But if multiplex chains continue as they have been doing…the ‘standard’ theatre industry is doomed.

In terms of Imax…I always wanted to see “The Perfect Storm” in Imax. That is one movie I like to see on a HUGE screen.

Do I think theatre’s will eventually be pase altogether…hmmmm, no, not really. But the experience has to tremendously change, otherwise people will just stay home in their compfy easy chairs and watch movies on their projection screens and surround sound systems.

Geo I agree, and I also want to mention that the ticket price is one of the most appauling bits to going to a movie. $ 7, 8, 9, 13, for a movie, in a 200 seat box, minimal projection, noisy patrons who think they are at home. Any more I just wait for the DVD,( thank you NETFLIX), I cannot afford to be paying 9 and 10 $ to see a movie, and I work hard for my money, and one like Jackass,, well, I rest my case.
I have only gone to 3 movies this year and one was a hour and half drive to see in IMAX. It was Poseidon, ok but it was good in IMAX. lol
United 93 and World Trade Center were the others that got my dollars, on a bargain matinee. And when was $6 a bargain matinee. Bargain matinees were 1.50 to my knowledge. I have not purchased ANY concession items in the past 4 years, with the box office price constinally climbing up, who can then afford to pay $5 for a small Coke ?

I am from LI too and as both yourself and CHUCK1231 pointed out this is definately a big problem with overscreening areas.

The first to fall victim to this problem was United Artists. This is a theatre organization of whom I pretty much almost singlehandedly blame for the degradation in the ‘cinema experience’. Most of their theatres were small and usually not well kept. Theatre Chain bad boy, National Amusements made quick work of UA and most of the UA theatres on long island have been put out of business by now. There was a UA theatre right near where I live in Coram. Much to my dismay I found out that the Coram UA was the site of a Drive-In.

Now it doesn’t stop there. Loews shut down most of their theatres that had less than 4 screens several years ago…they also closed down most of their ‘mall theatres’. This is to concentrate more on building more larger megaplexes.

Next National Amusement made a big blunder…they put one of THEIR OWN theatres out of business. Yes, that is right. The Cinema DeLux 16 which they built a few years ago was only two exits (on the LIE) away from their already existing Medford Multiplex. Naturally most of the Medford patrons went to the newer theatre and stopped going to the Medford theatre. It was closed and demolished.

Since I been looking to get into theatre myself (mostly live work) I have been paying very close attention to the movie industry and notice that the entire industry is heading for a rude awakening. There are a number of factors for this.

1) Home Theatre: Systems for the home are meeting and sometimes even beating those systems you see and hear in the theatres.

2) Early DVD releases: My wife and I saw the last Harry Potter Film just about on it’s last week in the theatres. Much to my surprise, just a mere two months later, I saw the DVD on the shelves at the local Borders book store.

3) Finally is the deterioration of the movie experience. To save space I will not go into detail here, but there is a post here that mentions the ousting of text messaging teenagers from an AMC theatre, and the posts there really explain what has happened over the years to the movie going theatre experience.

In short, if the theater going experience isn’t enhanced or made ‘better’ for all those going to a theatre to see a movie, then I can very well see more and more theater closings on the horizon. It is getting to the point where not even theatres with a dozen screens are not hanging on anymore. Most Multiplexes here on LI have about a dozen screens or more. Many are very dull anticeptic environments as well. There are very few theatres I enjoy going to. For one, I do not like the Cinema Delux 16. The bathrooms are small, the ‘Sbarro’ pizza is like cardboard and the nachos are over salty. I only go to two multiplexes on Long Island. One is the Farmingdale Multiplex which I still believe is National Amusement’s best theatre. Next is the AMC/Loews Stonybrook. This was one of my wife’s theatres when she worked for Loews before the AMC merger. This is a somewhat nicer theatre that harks back to the Art Deco era and it is appealing when you are comparing multiplexes of course. The bathrooms are huge and the building is somewhat kept neat. Food is OK.

Still, my best movie experiences is when I go out of town and find an old independent theatre that is still running a huge single screen. Hard to find nowadays, but these people really know what a movie theatre experience is all about. The big boys could really stand to take lessons from these independent guys.

All I can say is that I, an avid movie goer, am ashamed at what the movie theater experience has become over the years. I see myself going to the theatre less and less and waiting for the movie to get on DVD or On Demand. If the theatre problems keep up as they have been I too will probably join the ranks of those with a big home theatre system.

But I do love broadway shows (musicals), so there will at least be always something that I would go out to the theatre for.